Battle of Navarra

The Battle of Navarra was a battle of the Peninsular War that took place in early May 1811 in Navarra, northern Spain. The French army crushed a rebellion by Navarrese guerrillas loyal to the Bourbon dynasty with only 25 losses; they killed 2,470 Spanish rebels out of 2,850 men.

Background
In early May 1811, three rebellions broke out in Spain: Carlito Ortega's revolt in Andalusia, Manolete Ortiz's revolt in Navarra, and Jose de Palafox y Melzi in Pais Vasco. The Andalusians under Ortega were crushed in the Battle of Cordoba immediately, while the Basques plundered the countryside with impunity. Manolete Ortiz's army of 2,850 troops wandered the Navarra countryside, so French colonel Charlot Pierpont was dispatched with 4,200 French troops to put down the Navarrese guerrilla revolt.

Battle
The Spanish army consisted of only three units of guerrillas, and the French army formed a position that allowed them to fire on the guerrillas from three sides. The Chasseurs a Cheval shot down many of the rebels, and the rebel regiments began to withdraw. The French refused to stop their pursuit, sending in their chasseurs to cut down the fleeing rebels. A whole regiment of a 1,200-strong regiment of Fusiliers was wiped out, and only 380 Spanish escaped the battle. 250 French were lost.

Aftermath
Ortiz escaped with 380 men to the forest of Navarre, where he mended his units and recruited more Spanish citizens into the resistance. The French army ignored them, preferring to focus on the more important threat of the rebellion in Pais Vasco. Ortiz was eventually killed when his force ambushed a small French army and failed.